Toothpick.



N0. 7|0,498. Patented 001. 7, I902. Y D. MOCLMN.

TDOTHPICK.

(Appliution filed June 18, 1902) {No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

DOW MCGLAIN, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

TOOTH PICK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,498, dated October '7,

Application filed June 16, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOW MCOLAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of \Vyandotte and State of Kansas,l1ave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toothpicks; and I do hereby declare the'following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed, relates to certain new and useful improvements in toothpicks; and it consists of certain details of construction and arrangement of parts, the object being primarily to so dispose the tapered end of the toothpick that it will occupy a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the body portion in order to render the instrument more effective in dislodging fragments of food which may be gathered more especially between the back teeth.

Other advantages arising from the use of my invention will be made fully apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation showing an ordinary quill toothpick provided with means to hold the point thereof at right angles to the body portion. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the preferred form for the aperture provided in the retaining device designed for the reception of the sharpened end of the toothpick. Fig. 4; illustrates a modified form of retaining device for the end of the toothpick in position ready to be bent, so as to dispose the point of the pick substantially at right angles to the body portion. Fig. 5 shows the same device as Fig. f after the same has been bent to hold the point of the pick in an adjusted position. Figs. (3 and 7 are, respectively, a perspective and an end view of securing device illustrated in Figs. stand 5 upon a slightly-enlarged scale. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 illustrate still another form of securing device designed to hold the point of the pick substantially at right angles to the body portion thereof.

Briefly stated, my invention consists of a device adapted to he slipped over the end of an ordinary quill toothpick and be retained thereon by friction, said device being so Serial No. 111,954. (No model.)

formed that the point of the pick will be bent laterally and there held in order that all of the teeth may be rendered easily accessible without the necessity of opening the mouth to an undue extent.

\Vhile it is thought that the best results will follow the use of that form of device illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, yet I desire to comprehend in this application and cover in the claims all of the forms herein illustrated and the substantial equivalents thereof,inasmuch as my object is to provide means which will form a permanent or temporary union with the toothpick and dispose the point thereof in the manner specified.

Referring in detail to the several parts of my invention, 1 represents the body portion of an ordinary quill toothpick, which is cut away at one end in the usual manner to provide the shoulder or offset 2 and the point or tapered end In order that the point of the pick may be bent and held at right angles to the body portiont hereof, a simple ball or substantially spherical body L may be provided, formed, preferably, of glass, though any suitable material may be used. Upon one side of the ball 4 I provide the aperture 5, which extends inward to the middle portion of the ball, and thence at right angles to the first portion outward, terminating in the slotted aperture 6, the duct or opening thus formed gradually changing in size and character from the round inference-point 5 to the slotted opening 6, the object being to enable the opening 5 to accommodate a portion of the shoulder or offset 2, while the slotted aperture 6 is so formed and shaped that it will exactly receive the reduced portion of the point, near the extreme outer end thereof, said aperture 6 being disposed, preferably, one-half inch, more or less, from the extreme point of the pick when in its operative position.

Inasmuch as the opening provided in the ball is disposed so as to form an elbow and is curved at the angle-section thereof, the point of the pick will readily follow the opening and find the aperture 6, and when the ball is forced upon the point of the quill in the manner specified it will be retained in place by reason of the frictional contact set up between the ball and the quill, though such frictional grasp may be readily overcome when it is desired to remove the ball and replace the worn or injured pick with a new one, it-being understood that one ball, since it is formed of lasting material, as glass, may be repeatedly used. 1

In Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 I have illustrated another form of retaining device, which eonsists in a metallic collar or band so shaped that it will be provided with the enlarged end 7 and the tapered point 8, and the device so formed may be readily slipped over the end of the tapered point of the quill until the large end thereof contacts with the shoulder portion 2,when said device may be easily bent near the middle portion thereof so as to leave the ends 7 and 8 disposed substantially at right angles to each other, thereby insuring that the device will remain in an adjusted position. This form of device may be very cheaply constructed and is preferably made of some non-corrosive material, as aluminium, pure tin, gum-shellac, or the like, and may be made cheap enough to be thrown away with the quill when the latter becomes worn out by use,though, if preferred, said point may be slipped off of the worn pick and easily placed upon a new one.

In Figs. 8, 9, and 10 I have illustrated the preferred construction to be followed in the formation of the securing device, which in this instance consists of the tubular body portion 9, the shoulder 10, and the reduced portion 11, the latter being flattened at its extreme end, so as to provide a slit through which the point of the quill is adapted to extend, the object being in constructing this device to so shape it that it will snugly receive and tightly fit over the tapered end of the pick, which may be slipped into the tnbular body portion 9, as shown in Fig. 9, when the shoulder 2 of the pick will rest against the interior surface of the shoulder 10, while the point 3 will extend through the slit in the tapered end 11, since the curved section 12 will so act upon the flexible point 3 that it will be readily directed through said slit. It is thought that this form of retain ing device may with the best results be made. of celluloid, though any suitable or preferred material may be employed, as will be readily It will be apparent that any of understood.

the specified forms of my retaining device will be found to be a very useful adjunct to a toothpick, as it is an important desideratum that the point of the pick shall stand permanently at right angles to thebody portion thereof, since the pick thus reinforced may be readily applied to any part of the mouth, and that the back teeth may be as conveniently and readily acted upon as the front teeth.

My improved retaining device for use upon toothpicks being of simple construction and inexpensively manufactured may be sold as a separate article to be applied upon the quill as used, or it may form a permanent part of the quill and placed in cooperation therewith before the latter is packed ready for shipment and sale.

Believing that the advantages of my invention and the manner of manufacturing and using the same have been made fully apparent in the foregoing specification, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, I will dispense with further reference to the details thereof.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an improvement in toothpicks, the combination with the quill or pick proper, of a point-retaining device provided witha rightangular passage or seat adapted to be slipped bodily over the entire end of the pick whereby the point of the pick will extend through said angular passage or seat and be held substantially at right angles to the body of the quill as set forth.

2. As an improvement in toothpicks, the combination with the pick proper of the herein-described attachment comprising a tubular body portion 9 havinga reduced terminal extending at right angles to said body, said attachment being adapted to be slipped bodily over the point of the pick whereby said point will be held at right angles to the body portion thereof substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DOW MOCLAIN.

Witnesses:

EUGENIE LLOYD, A. S. SALLEY, Jr. 

